Fertilizer agitator and aerator



Jan. 1, 1952 D. SHERMAN FERTILIZER AGITATOR AND AERATOR Filed Sept. 16, 1950 IIIHIHIIPMPH R1H I INVENTOR.

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. may not contain dissolved nitrates. phate is usuallyin the form of either superphosphate, triple phosphate vor meta phosphate while f p the potash may occur as potassium oxide or po- Patented Jan. 1 1952 UNITED sr TEs.

PATENT OFFICE 2,580,854 FERTILIZER. AGITATOR AND AERATOR l David Sherman, Prairie du Chien, Wis.-

' Appliance Septem r 16, 1950, Serial No. 185,287

My invention. concerns a' new and improved device for accelerating the cooling of raw commercial fertilizer as it passes from the mixing stage to the storage bins. Specifically, my invena conveyor conveniently may be'separated, agitated and cooled prior toits discharge into a conventional storage bin'f In the manufacture of commercial fertilizer it is generally thepractice toimake a chemical mixture of three main constituents namely, nitrogen, phosphate and potash, which may occur in a variety of chemical forms In general the nitroh gen is obtained from nitrate-saltaammonia salts or ammonia solutions, the latter-which may or The phostassium chloride .(muriate of potash). The'a'dmixture of theseco nstituents in accordance with a given fertilizer formula results in the generation of a great amount of heat. When the tam- 25 perature of the fertilizer mixtur e h o normallya reconversion of the constituents takes place, that is, some of the available phosphates become calcium phosphate which is not readily soluble in water. [This chemical phenomena, of .30 course, is undesirable -since a fertilizer should be as soluble as possible so that it readily may be absorbed by the soil. -In order to maintain the soluble calcium phosphates. Sinceit is the general practice of the fertilizer manufacturers to store the raw fertilizer in large bins or piles where a there is little ventilation oropportunity. to cool 40 the fertilizer, especially as to the fertilizer lying near thecenter of the bins or piles; it is best to cool the fertilizer mixture as much as possible before it is committed to the storage bins.' .Nor-

mally the fertilizer isconveyed from the mixing 45 .on such conveyors affords the most convenient opportunity for cooling and it is. immediately obvious that any increase. in the cooling time overfio that afforded by the normal passageof the fertilizer along the .conveyorisdesirable.

To that end my present invention is-idirected.

v Briefly I propose to disclose a simple aeratingde- :vice. maybe; suspended. o eratbe fer l ze J; .For anaQ atOr-LQ h type shown I p efer that 4 Claims. (Cl. 2592) conveyor belt or the like in such a manner that the fertilizer is scooped up from the underpassing belt, agitated and dumped back onto the belt, thus aerating and cooling the fertilizer mixture.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide an aerating device which is adapted to agitate and cool the fertilizer as it passes from the mixing machinery'to the storage bins on a conventional belt conveyor.

Another object of my invention is to demonstrate an aerating device useful in conjunction with a belt conveyor for increasing theavailable time for cooling fertilizer or like granular material being conveyed for a given length of belt traveling at a given speed.

Still anotherimportant object of my invention is to disclose a new and useful aerating device for use with a moving conveyor belt carrying fertilizer by virtue of which the fertilizer may be constantly agitated, cooled and'prevented from forming into hard and undesirable lumps.

These and further objects and features of my invention will be recognized by those familiar with this 'art from the following description and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of my aerating device; g

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view showing my aerator in use with a typical belt conveyor for carrying fertilizer; and

Figure 4 is a front elevational view in cross section of the conveyor illustrated in Figure 3 taken substantially along line 44 of Figure 3.

"FromFigures l and 2 it will be recognized that my aerating attachment or device l0 therein illustrated, comprises a bullet shaped body portion ll having a pair of distribution wings I2, I2 fixedly mounted along either side thereof. As seen in these two figures the wings are disposed in an upward angularly inclined disposition or relation, inclining from the bullet shaped nose [3 of the body member ll rearwardly upward so that their trailing edges 14 extend beyond the rearlimits of the body member for purposes which will appear presently.

A suspension arm or bracket I5 projects vertically from near the upper central portion of the body II and is fitted with a plurality of holes I6 for adjusting the hanging position of the aerator 1.0 overa conveyorindicated generally at 20 in Figures 3an'd4.

convergingly positioned over said conveyor be- UNITED STATES PATENTS tween successive aerating devices for converging said separated furrows of fertilizer back into a g giz gz o t 1 6 1944 single furrow whereby the next succeeding aer- I: n ating device may repeat said agitation and aera- FOREIGN PATENTS tion thereof. Number Country Date DAVID S RMAN- 41,297 Denmark Oct. 26, 1928 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the W file of this patent: 

